


Scarlet Obsession

by infinite drabblets (tonikah)



Category: INFINITE (Band)
Genre: Angst, Gisaeng Hyun, M/M, Soldier Gyu, topgyu, woogyu - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:27:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21658267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tonikah/pseuds/infinite%20drabblets
Summary: Gisaeng Hyun meets Soldier Gyu, set in Japanese colonial era Korea, but where the gisaeng wear joseon-era outfits. Touches on resistance and espionage.This fic is essentially a compilation of draft drabbles I did on twitter following Woohyun's cosplay as a gisaeng at the 2018 fanmeet, and Sunggyu as a soldier in Shinheung Military Academy. Please don't throw stones at me for any historical inaccuracies! And apologies for not highlighting more of the gisaeng's professional artistic side. I took certain liberties for the fic.I've posted this in chapters since it started its life as a series of tweeted drabbles. I've also done some extra work on the original drafts to try to make it work more coherently as a fic, but it will ultimately still read more like a series of fragments than your average fic.I've often felt that this could have benefited from being expanded much more, both in terms of emotional and character development, and also in terms of plot. But for what it's worth, here we are. I hope this fic does some justice to the multitude of feelings and desires that gisaeng hyun and soldier gyu had aroused on twitter.
Relationships: Kim Sunggyu/Nam Woohyun
Comments: 9
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

" _I love your lips when they’re wet with wine_

 _And red with a wild desire..._ "

\- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Woohyun lay on the bed, keeping his eyes shut and pretending to be asleep as the gisaeng left to go and wash up. Another night, yet another unsatisfying encounter which left him feeling strangely indifferent. 

He was almost used to it by now, living with a simmering sense that he was searching for something, but with no real conception of what that something could be. Not for the first time, he thought about the life and love he’d left behind. All, it seems, for nought. 

There was no point in hanging around if he was not interested in a second round, and he decided it was time to leave. He got up from the bed and went about gathering his clothes. 

Just then, a flash of red in the mirror caught his eye. He approached it, and stared at the image reflected back him. 

It was him. Of course it was, who else could it have been? But his lips were now smeared crimson - the remains of the gisaeng’s aggressive kisses. 

His lips looked fuller. Luscious, even. 

He parted his lips, licking them slightly to moisten them. 

The gisaeng’s colourful robes were strewn on the floor. With a furtive glance to check that the gisaeng was out of sight and not on her way back, he pulled them on. He gazed back at the person in the mirror, fingering the lines of embroidery on the robe, and took in the way the vibrantly hued fabric hung on him and set off the colour of his lips. 

He allowed his hands to trace up the collar, up the line of his neck, and continuing past the edges of his jaw to his cheeks, and as he dragged his fingers slowly across his lips, he felt something within him shift subtly into place.


	2. Chapter 2

  
“Sunggyu, you are going to scare off all the ladies at the rate you’re going. Would it kill you to smile a little? Relax and have a drink!”

Sunggyu sighed, and accepted a top up. It felt strange to be back in Korea after those years away in the military academy in Japan, even stranger to be back somewhere which should have been home, but to instead feel immediately distanced because of the imperial military uniform he now wore. To feel that fear, and ill-disguised suspicion from those who are supposed to be his fellow countrymen. 

But he did not blame them, not really. Clad in this foreign uniform, a sword by his side, he sometimes felt like he was floating outside of his own body. And in that moment, everything felt even more surreal, with gisaeng fawning and wandering around him and the other soldiers like ornate, floating flowers. There was too much of everything - music, noise, colour, laughter, talk. 

One by one, his companions started to leave, having found entertainment and company of their own for the evening. Sunggyu decided it was time to leave as well. He got up, pulling his hat back on, and felt more than a little relieved as he stepped out into the fresh air outside.

A gaggle of gisaeng came by then, their hats taking up too much space and their perfume clouding them like a fog. Sunggyu was about to move past quickly, but something pulled him towards them instead. Specifically, he was drawn to the aura of one of the gisaeng, who was wearing a black hanbok embroidered with vivid red flowers. Not that he could even see her fully - each of them obscured in some way by their large and elaborate jeonmo, some were even veiled in noeul which floated and billowed in the breeze. Yet, he couldn’t help but gaze at her moving figure as they passed him.

Just before they crossed the threshold, Sunggyu managed to catch a glimpse of her profile as she turned to say something to one of the others, and the rest all tittered away in response. He stopped dead in his tracks, as they disappeared from sight. 

He had seen a nose like that before - unusually sharp and distinguished. And lips like those as well. Somewhere, in a different time, days more carefree than now, lips that had whispered secrets into his ears and left sweet kisses over every part of him. But it simply wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be. 

Sunggyu gave himself a shake, convincing himself that loneliness and the haze of time were playing tricks on him. He headed back to his quarters, his shoulders stiff and steps more brisk and determined than usual. 


	3. Chapter 3

“Halt! What are you doing here??” 

Woohyun stilled. He’d been caught, and now he had to think of something, fast. 

Turning around slightly, Woohyun bowed his head, and looked up from beneath his eyelashes with his best attempt at coyness he could muster. “Oh my goodness, you gave me such a shock! But I’m so glad you found me. I was wandering around the grounds and got lost....”

The soldier sneered. “How convenient of you to get lost in the one of the governor’s offices. This area is restricted, and gisaeng don’t normally wander around unaccompanied. What are you doing here away from the rest of your group?” 

Woohyun cursed inwardly. This one was a hard sell. Why couldn’t he have encountered one of the soldiers whom he’d regularly seen? This one didn’t look amenable to anything that he might have to offer, which seemed a pity, as the study was deserted and they were far from the main hubbub of the party. 

As a thousand options ran through Woohyun’s head, a steady voice cut through the silence. “Who do we have in there?”

“Lieutenant, it’s one of the gisaengs from the party.”

Woohyun could hear the footsteps draw nearer, and eventually, he saw another uniformed figure join the soldier. 

“One of the gisaengs, did you say?” His voice was calm and quiet compared to his subordinate’s, and yet lacked no authority or confidence. 

“Yes, Lieutenant.”

The lieutenant strode over towards Woohyun. The room was fairly dark, though illuminated in parts by swathes of moonlight, and Woohyun couldn’t make out the man’s features clearly. At the back of his mind though, Woohyun found himself admiring the way the dark uniform fit the man’s body, the way the peak of the lieutenant’s cap was pulled low and hid his eyes, but set off the sharpness of his chin. He cursed at himself for being distracted, rather than thinking of how to extricate himself from this situation. 

Soon, the lieutenant was almost right in front of him, and Woohyun kept his head bowed deferentially. But he couldn’t help wondering why there was the odd air of familiarity about this man. 

In that moment, he felt long, slender fingers wrap around his chin, and then tilt his face up. His eyes widened upon seeing the lieutenant’s face, and he couldn’t help the gasp of shock and recognition that escaped him. 

The sharp eyes that Woohyun could now see staring back at him flashed briefly, but then quickly reverted to an unreadable gaze as he examined him. After a moment, he let go of Woohyun’s chin, and walked back towards the door. 

“You’re right, Hayashi, this is one of the gisaengs from the party. But if I were you, I would leave her alone. I have word that one of the higher-ups has planned a rendezvous with her during the party, which,” he added as turned around to face Woohyun over his shoulder, “I think may explain why she is somewhere where no one else would be.”

The subordinate sputtered a little at this, and Woohyun summoned up the presence of mind to play along. “Oh dear, I was hoping not to have to say anything…” he said coquettishly. 

Once the two soldiers had left, Woohyun collapsed onto the floor, in utter turmoil, mission momentarily forgotten. 

Sunggyu, that was his Sunggyu. He never imagined that they would meet again like this. 


	4. Chapter 4

“You are not going to find what you’re looking for.”

Woohyun turned around and saw a uniformed figure standing half hidden in the shadows at the doorway, his guntō unsheathed and pointing towards him. The blade glinted in the moonlight. 

It was strange, this feeling of fear yet relief at seeing Sunggyu again. 

Woohyun got up to face him properly. “What makes you think you know what I’m looking for?”

“I have my ways,” said Sunggyu, his face impassive as he walked towards him, sword still outstretched. “You know,” he added drily, “I’ve already done you a huge favour. I could have had you arrested.”

Woohyun snorted. “I don’t need your favour.” 

Woohyun didn’t know what to make of the man before him. He looked like Sunggyu, he _was_ Sunggyu, but so few traces otherwise remained of the pale, gentle boy he had left behind. 

He supposed he looked just as different to Sunggyu.

“Amazing. Who would have thought we’d see the day when Nam Woohyun would dress up as a woman?” 

Woohyun’s face hardened. “Who would have thought we’d see the day when Kim Sunggyu would become nothing but a lackey for the Japanese?” He could have sworn that he saw Sunggyu’s jaw tighten just that little bit. 

“I must say,” Sunggyu said with an artificial lightness, “I have to give you credit for your commitment to the cause. It must be really hard for you to pretend to be a gisaeng.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Sunggyu scoffed. “You really want to play this game.”

“I’m not playing at anything.”

A stony silence hung in the air, but after a while, Sunggyu sighed, and he withdrew his sword.

“Why are you like this then?” His voice softened a little. “Who made you do this?”

“Nobody. I didn’t do this for anything or anyone,” Woohyun continued quickly, before Sunggyu could interject. “I wanted to be a gisaeng. So I became one.” 

Woohyun had spent so much time over the last few years plotting out all the circumstances in which their paths could possibly cross again, turning over idea after idea in his head of all the possible ways to tell him. Never had he thought that Sunggyu would have to find out like this. 

“What do you mean? The Nam Woohyun I know would never have done this.”

“You don’t know me. You think you do, but you don’t.” 

“So this is what you wanted then? To be like this? To have the company of others?” The initial confusion Sunggyu felt had now given way to the heat of anger, which surged up within him in a tight curl. 

“What are you saying?” There was a dangerous edge to Woohyun’s voice. 

“I never knew that you would like dressing up as a woman and going around selling yourself, sleeping around with other men,” Sunggyu’s chest was tight to bursting, and the words tumbled out of him in a bitter heap. 

“I knew you’d mock me. I knew it... ” Woohyun’s voice trailed off, icy cold. 

“You were the one who left!” There was no hiding the tremble in Sunggyu’s voice now. “You have no idea how much I despaired…” 

“I didn’t know what I wanted at the time, I really didn’t Sunggyu! And you wouldn’t want me now anyway...” 

Woohyun knew it would be foolish to expect anything from Sunggyu, especially given the circumstances of that very moment. But as the minutes ticked by and Sunggyu said nothing, any hope there was within him dissolved.

“Well, if you’ll excuse me, _Lieutenant_ , there’s someone who’s expecting my company.” Woohyun bumped Sunggyu brusquely on the way out, trying not to let the disappointment that Sunggyu didn’t even react in any way as he left the room seep further into him. 


	5. Chapter 5

There were only so many guesthouses where the gisaengs entertained, and it was hard for Sunggyu and Woohyun to avoid seeing each other completely. Nonetheless, they managed to keep their interactions minimal and civil. This never seemed out of place even in the midst of the lusty hustle of the guesthouse, since Sunggyu had developed a reputation for being cold and quiet anyway - someone who mostly accompanied his men on their nights out keep them in check, or to provide his superiors with some extra company, but whom no one ever saw let his guard down. 

Nonetheless, Woohyun remained wary, knowing that Sunggyu could blow his cover at anytime. But also, the disappointment at the failure of the mission still stung. Or was it the disappointment and hurt from his encounter with Sunggyu that lingered? He couldn’t tell. 

Even with all the danger and messy emotional aftermath of that night, he couldn’t deny the thrill that had run up his spine when Sunggyu pointed his sword at him, his cap low over his face. He’d observed Sunggyu across the room at the guesthouse many times since then, taking in the way his body filled out his uniform, how his jaw had broadened and his face had changed with the passage of time. His eyes, narrow as ever, now held a different gaze. Harder. Steelier. He wore his authority in a way that demanded acquiescence without him ever having to raise his voice or even say a word. 

He could not help the way his skin prickled whenever Sunggyu was in the room, nor could he stop himself from wondering just how Sunggyu’s body and hard flesh would look now, _feel_ now, compared to before. 

Woohyun knew that for a multitude of good reasons, he had to stay out of Sunggyu’s way. There were more things at stake beyond his own desires and curiosity. There was little else to do but try his best to avoid Sunggyu, whether by averting his gaze when he was performing in front of the soldiers, or channelling his energies and attention onto someone else. In all that he did, he willed himself away and tried to find a diversion for the heat that built within him at the sight of Sunggyu. 

Yet, even though his head would remind him constantly that Sunggyu did not want him anyway, and would never want him like this, his heart sank a little each time he saw Sunggyu leave the guesthouse, either alone or worse, with one of the other gisaengs. 

Little did he know that that behind that impassive veneer, all that Sunggyu could see in his mind’s eye long after he left the guesthouse each time had been Woohyun - Woohyun and his sultry, half-lidded eyes; Woohyun and the teasing smile that played across his fulsome, red, red lips that promised untold pleasures; Woohyun and his body that was temptation in motion; Woohyun. 


	6. Chapter 6

Woohyun slid the door open to go and meet his private appointment for the night. He stopped abruptly at the threshold, pausing when he saw who was waiting inside.

“I see that there’s been a mistake. You must have been looking for someone else.”

“No. There’s no mistake.”

Woohyun looked Sunggyu squarely in the eye. “What do you want?”

“I just want a drink with an old friend.”

“That person no longer exists.”

Sunggyu pursed his lips. “Fine, a drink with Hyunyi-ssi then.”

Woohyun settled down at the low table and poured Sunggyu a drink. He could feel Sunggyu’s eyes on every part of him.

“Aren’t you going to thank me for the other night?” Sunggyu’s men had gotten rowdier than usual after one too many rounds, and one of them had started demanding the company of a real woman with real tits and pussy, and not some man with make-up and a girl’s robes on. Sunggyu had taken the soldier outside, “to have a word”. He then returned to the room later, noticeably alone. 

“You mean that lout that you are supposed to be in charge of? I can look after myself, since as you know, I’m not actually a damsel in distress,” Woohyun said coolly.

He placed the bottle down after pouring some for himself, and when Sunggyu raised his glass, he accepted the toast.

“But since you are paying for tonight, thank you very much, Lieutenant.”

.....................................................................

As the night wore on, alcohol melted the barriers that time and circumstance had built. They were after all, as Sunggyu said, friends before all this, even before they were lovers. 

“Why didn’t you say anything before leaving?”

“I told you, I didn’t know what I wanted. It was cowardly, but I didn’t know how to tell you that everything just didn’t feel right.” 

“I knew that I wasn’t satisfying you.” Sunggyu’s tone was matter of fact, belying all the anguish that Woohyun had left in his wake at the time.

“Yes, but what profit would there have been in talking about it?”

Sunggyu watched as Woohyun poured him another glass. “Do you really like being a gisaeng?” 

Woohyun snorted. “I don’t think anyone really _likes_ being a gisaeng, Sunggyu. But I get to sing and dance, which as you know I’ve always liked, and… and I do love wearing a gisaeng’s clothes.” He searched for the right words, not sure how they would be taken. “When I’m made up like this, it feels right. It feels good.“

“You look good.” 

Startled, Woohyun looked up to find Sunggyu looking at him intently. 

“You look good,” Sunggyu repeated. “Like this.”

In that moment, Woohyun felt as though everything around him was contracting unto itself, till there was nothing left but just him and Sunggyu, and the words that hung suspended in the air. 

He felt a tug at his collar, and he gasped as Sunggyu pulled him in. Their faces were very close, their noses just touching, though their lips were not quite.

“What do you want from me?” His voice came out as a whisper, his lips brushing ever so barely against Sunggyu’s with each word.

And then Sunggyu closed the gap, crushing his lips against Woohyun’s.

It was strange, kissing Sunggyu again. Everything felt vaguely familiar but wildly different at the same time. There was an aggression and dominance in his kiss that Woohyun had never felt before, and it thrilled him endlessly. 

If Woohyun were to be honest, it was like discovering the Sunggyu of his dreams, the Sunggyu he had conjured up in the haziness of his late night fantasies, the Sunggyu he had imagined he was with each time he was with a customer, the face and body he had pictured in his mind when another man pushed his ass up and slid into him.

Sunggyu stroked his hands all over Woohyun’s body, which was paler and more slender than before, now devoid of the thick muscles that used to define his limbs. He dragged his tongue all over Woohyun’s chest, leaving trails of hot pleasure everywhere, relishing the way Woohyun clung onto his shoulders and arched desperately into him. 

Glimpses of memories from before flickered in their minds, but at some point, they each stopped enumerating all the ways things were different from the past, and lost themselves completely in the animal heat of the present.

Woohyun pulled at Sunggyu to sit at the edge of the bed, fanning his hands across the musculature of Sunggyu’s chest and abdomen. He kissed his way down Sunggyu’s torso, before taking his cock into his hands, and rubbing it all over his face. He licked a long, filthy stripe from his balls up to the very tip of the head, before finally sinking it deep into his mouth, his eyes never leaving Sunggyu’s.

Sunggyu nearly came just from the sight of Woohyun’s scarlet mouth wrapped around his cock and sliding tightly up and down its length. Fragments of conversations he had heard in the soldiers’ messes, about how Hyunyi-ssi was really good at giving head, better than any of the actual women, floated in the back of his mind. The intrusive thoughts were quickly pushed aside as Sunggyu gave himself in completely to the sinful sensation of Woohyun’s tongue and lips gliding over his dick over and over again, sucking at him until he came hard, Woohyun swallowing every drop and licking him clean. 

He pulled Woohyun up then, and clocked the way his eyes were ablaze with arousal, his chest rising and falling with each desperate pant, and he felt desire surge in him again. He pushed Woohyun back down, biting and sucking at Woohyun’s skin, marking him everywhere. Woohyun let him, even though he knew he shouldn’t. 

Woohyun moaned and gasped, keening against the steady push and pull of Sunggyu’s fingers as he prepared him. Finally, when Sunggyu was hard and ready again, he slid in, burying his length all the way inside Woohyun. Woohyun grabbed at Sunggyu’s ass, pressing himself against him till there was no space between them whatsoever, and he closed his eyes with the delicious satisfaction of having Sunggyu's thickness fill him up to the hilt.

Sunggyu’s strokes were long and slow at first as they both savoured the friction of his cock dragging inside Woohyun’s walls. Then Woohyun’s bucking became more needy, and he started demanding more, demanding to be _fucked_ , and that’s when Sunggyu began slamming relentlessly into Woohyun, his thrusts heavy and deep and _oh so good_. Woohyun pulled Sunggyu’s face down to meet his, licking the sweat off Sunggyu’s neck and panting into his mouth, moaning over and over again how amazing he felt.

Before long, Woohyun was coming and his cum spurted hot and white between their bodies. Sunggyu would always remember the way Woohyun looked then, writhing wantonly, lipstick smeared messily across his lips, his canines baring as he cried out his ecstasy. 

Woohyun eyes were wet - was it the intensity of sex, or something else? Sunggyu didn’t know, and he gave no thought to it as he reached his own climax again, throwing his head back with his mouth parted and his eyes closed in a reverie, as he released himself deep inside Woohyun. 

.....................................................................

They lay together in silence for a long time. 

"I shouldn’t be sleeping with the enemy.”

“Am I the enemy?” Sunggyu watched a shadow pass over Woohyun’s eyes.

“I have to go.” Woohyun sat up, turning to gather his robes, but he felt a tug at his arm stopping him. He looked back, and saw an unreadable expression on Sunggyu’s face. 

“What do you want? You’ve had your fun, now let me go.”

“Wasn’t it good for you too?”

Woohyun glared at him, and tried to shake his hand off, but Sunggyu’s grip tightened.

“What if… I am not the enemy?”

“What do you mean?”

Sunggyu paused, and then sighed. He reached for his trousers on the floor, and extracted a piece of paper from his pocket and passed it to Woohyun. 

“Please bring it to Madam Yi. She will know what to do.” Woohyun’s eyes widened.

“You are with the Resistance too? When did you…” 

“Not too long ago. Some time after the governor’s party,” he added quickly.

Woohyun sat back down, a maelstrom of emotions churning in him. 

“I was so lost after you left, so hurt and lost I decided to cast everything aside and leave too, and join the army. But working for the Japanese never sat right with me. I saw so many things...” his voice trailed off. 

“I’d heard about the Resistance, even back in Japan, but I always hesitated. Something always held me back.” Sunggyu took a breath “Then I saw you again... You have no idea how confused I was, what havoc you had wrought in me. I think I even hated you for a moment then. But seeing you again somehow gave me the final push I needed.”

“So is that why you are here tonight?” Woohyun wasn’t sure what he felt anymore. His confusion had been undercut by a deeper sense of relief - relief that they were on the same side and he didn’t need to hide from Sunggyu, relief that Sunggyu still had his integrity after all, that he was still the good person he had known him to be. But Woohyun couldn’t help hearing that voice in his head taunting him with the thought that Sunggyu was here only because of an assignment. 

It shouldn’t matter, but somehow it did. 

“I meant to tell you earlier tonight, but well…” and then there was that cheeky smile that Woohyun had not seen in a long, long while. “I got distracted.” 

“So you are just here for business then.”

Sunggyu looked at Woohyun, trying to read his thoughts. After a while, he pulled Woohyun into his arms. “It _was_ for business. I can’t deny it. But I’m glad for it, because it gave me a way to speak to you again, and more besides.” Sunggyu pressed a gentle kiss against Woohyun cheek then, one that made Woohyun’s heart ache. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

Woohyun pushed at Sunggyu lightly. “Are you trying to mix business with pleasure?” he asked, trying to sound stern. 

“Why not, if we can?” And then they were laughing, and then kissing again, knowing they could, and would. 


End file.
